I am Thankful For:

FRIENDS! Here is Maria (on the far right) and 2 friends.

FAMILY! Isabelle (11) and her cousin Samantha (17!).

RELAXING! Morrie and Annie.

My Baaaaabbbbbyyyyy!

She is nine? When did that happen??? Well, it was so busy last weekend, that I didn't get a chance to post on HER day. So here is a rundown of the weekend, in reverse order of course. It ended with lunch out after Isabelle's soccer game and a free birthday Sundae.

She wanted something for her birthday that had to do with horses. We found a perfect little "Riding Academy" that she was thrilled with!

Here the dog is trying to persuade Maria into playing with ehr instead of Maria's new presents. Maria thought it was slightly annoying.

This was her friend party. It was book themed, so each girl brought a copy of her favorite book and each went home with a copy of Maria's favorite book. Very low key, very easy, it was awesome!

Happy Birthday!! We went to Barnes and Noble to spend her gift certificate and we sat down and I tried to read her "The Night You Were Born" but I was choked up on the 4th word, and I quickly put it back. It's a beautiful book, that we already have, it's just packed away so I thought I would read it to her at the store. Nope. Not going to bawl in the bookstore. Cripes, she's old!

Happy Fall!

Dogs and cats Do get along, although it takes QUITE a while, and the cat has to know how to "whap" the dog in the head every now and then, but it can happen.

Well, you know it's fall when the football comes out of the closet. Brian, Maria and Morrie tossed the ol pigskin around before Isabelle's game last weekend. It was a beauteeful day, how could they not?

Sock Hop TIme!

It's the annual Sock Hop at the girls school and Maria was all excited to wear her new poodle skirt! All the girls and Dad's dress up in their 50's finest and get their groove on in their socks.

How cute is thei sweater? I found it in a 50's inspired store in Oregon this summer and new it would be perfect for the dance.

Maria and her date! In case you are wondering where Isabelle is, she deemed herself too old to attend and made her last appearance in 4th grade (*sniff*).

Izzy Soccer!!

Isabelle played up near Darrington, and although we had no rain, the field was really muddy. The girls took turns helping eachother scrape the mud out of their shoes!! It was a great game, we had previously lost to the other team 0-3 and last weekend we kept them at 0-0. Way to go girls!!

I don't know if they are coming up with new strategies, or just making pretty designs with the red dots!!

You prove to me the other girl is 11 and I'll give you my new kitchen!

Love the action shots! Isabelle had one of the few (if only) shots on goal, and it was a left footer!! No use crying over spilled milk, so we'll celebrate the effort!!

Hmmm...

Has it really been almost a week since my last post?? Well, my brother Brian has been in town and there hasn't been too much free time. I did get some pictures over the weekend, so look for those soon. I am working 2 jobs today, so I only have time for a brief update. We had our first big dinner with 12 people in the new kitchen, and it was AWESOME! We are still working on the railing, which is turning into a much more difficult project than we anticipated. We will not let it get us down however! The kids have interrupted this post 4 times and the phone rang once, I think I better go!

This and That

Here are the new handles, and they are great. The picture doesn't even do them justice, you will have have to see them for yourselves!

I love fall colors. I especially love our evergreens sprinkled throughout all the reds and golds, I don't think I could even stand fall in New England, this is way better. Nevermind that there is a flood warning today for every county in the area.

All you need is a book and you are good to go. That is the motto for my children. For Isabelle it's usually, "All you need are 3 books..". She likes to be extra prepared, in case she finishes one, and one self destructs, she will still have one left to read. By the way, Isabelle BLEW ME AWAY yesterday with some fancy soccer move she was showing me. Pictures will never do it justice, but I think it's called the Maradona. Crazy stuff coming out of her feet. If I can manage to video and take still pictures of the games this weekend, by god I will!

YAY SOCCER!!!

Isabelle began our soccer day on a turf field, and oh my gosh, that ball was fast!! She did an awesome job of getting the ball, looking around for where she wanted it to go and then passing. Not all kids can do this and I was so proud! They won 2-0, and after the harsh 3 weeks they have had, it felt so great to see all those girls smiling! Bonus, we skipped out on the rain!

Maria ended our day with an evening indoor game, her first of this indoor season. She got to play on the adult field, 7 on 7, and finally ran like the wind blows! She said she was so happy to run and run and not have anyone around her. She made 2 awesome assists, and they won 4-3. She was so aggressive, that she was the only girl on her team to have a foul called on her! I knew she would just love being on a big field, and playing with the walls, and wouldn't you know it, she just shined out there!

Soccer rocks!

What a week!

1. OMG, the floors look awesome, I love not having plywood underfoot!

2. The dogs nails just got trimmed, she's so quiet now, and so cute in her new crate and chewing on her new toy!

3. I love having a job, knowing that I will actually have a paycheck next week! SO dependable, unlike some other jobs I may have...

4. A famous man called this week an "evolutionary flashpoint" where we have succeeded in living up to what we keep telling our children is possible. I love it!

5. Rain-x and some new clothes, sheesh, it doesn't get much better, does it??

November Soccer

It was a bit rainy, and a bit muddy last weekend, but we survived! The dog is currently sitting on my lap, trying to stay warm, I think. That's our goal every weekend, to try to stay warm out there. It's worked well so far, but we haven't hit those December games yet!!

We're working on it!

Well, the kitchen is coming along. We now have handles on all of the cabinets, we finished painting the kitchen, and the front room (which included the ceiling no less) and the floors got started today. Since I have officially started my new job, and only the dog will be home now, I don't know how fast things will go, or really, how clean things will be (this was my morning thought).
And then the afternoon happened and my thoughts changed a bit...the kick in the pants that we have now received is that my brother has decided to come for a surprise visit, and will be here in 9 days!!! I think Morrie and I need to start having coffee with dinner! Let's get a move on!!!!